By Funada Ikkin
Late Edo period (19th century)
Donated by the Homma family
Considered a type of sword mount or guard, a tsuba is usually a round (or occasionally squarish) guard positioned at the end of the grip of bladed Japanese weapons, like the katana and its variations, tachi, wakizashi, tantō, naginata etc. They protect the hand and help balance the weapon. During the Edo period, the tsuba was more ornament than function.
Bonji is the translated Japanese name for the Siddham script from India, a descendant of the Brahmi script. It is primarily used by Shingon Buddhists in Japan to write out mantras and sutras in Sanskrit. A single character is typically used to represent a deity or Buddha. The character inscribed here is “un,” indicating prayers to Bato Kannon (the horse-headed Kannon) and Aizen Myōō (Ragaraja, the Lust-tainted Wisdom King).
Funada Ikkin (1812–63) was a master craftsperson of the Sakai family in the Shōnai district. He frequently travelled between Shōnai and Edo, training many apprentices. So skilled in his craft was he, that he was described as the second-best goldsmith in Shōnai after Tsuchiya Yasuchika.